The Color of Taxes

“Death, taxes and childbirth! 

There's never any convenient time for any of them.” 

(Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind)

It is "tax season" (there's apparently 5 seasons now...) in the Canadian accounting world. I've been gifted with an inside view of taxes as a consequence of filling an admin position in my wife's public accounting office. To be honest, the whole taxation system befuddles me. The CRA manual is HUGE! I am truly in awe of Anna's knowledge of taxation regulations and how they apply to a bazillion different scenarios.  I am also in awe of the tidal wave of negativity that the issue of taxes provokes in many of her clients.

While a good 'ol rant about the insanity of the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) would elicit significant applause from my readership and Anna's clients, it is not the inadequacies of the system to which I direct my comments today. Rather, it is the idea of the "common good" that has my attention.

“I hate paying taxes.

But I love the civilization they give me” 

(Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.)

Few of us like the idea of giving away a portion of our hard-earned income to a cause that we do not necessarily support. Every year the news reports some story about questionable government spending, misappropriation of funds, or massive overspending on projects with which we disagree. The result is a deep-seated resentment of paying taxes. 

I get that - money is time and energy; few among us want to frivolously waste our time and energy. This, however, is not the whole picture with taxes. As we gripe about paying tax, we may be throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water. Governments are generally inefficient; bureaucracies allow for dubious spending policies; this is, perhaps, beyond question. Nonetheless, the tax system provides life in many ways, both subtle and overt, to our communities.

Here are some of the ways our tax dollars are Love in action:

- access to health care professionals

- access to emergency services and first responders 

- roads, urban water and sewer systems, bridges, side walks, 

  traffic signals...

- libraries, museums, art galleries

- elementary, middle and high schools, universities, tech schools, 

  and colleges

- a social care network for those who are, for any reason, unable to 

  make a living

- parks, playgrounds, wildlife sanctuaries

- passports, visas, international relations

All of this is only the tip of the iceberg. I acknowledge that none of the above suggestions are working perfectly; health care, educational, and political institutions are flawed and full of holes. Be that as it may, they still support life, providing an infrastructure upon which families and communities find some grounding. 

“We contend

that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity

is like a man standing in a bucket

and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” 

(Winston S. Churchill)

Churchill's words stand as a warning - taxation is not the solution to our problems. Overtaxing a people is a sure road to civil uprising. On the other hand, the ideal upon which taxation is based is founded upon ancient principles, namely, that we all have a responsibility for contributing to the common good. Communities are made strong as we work together to ensure that all members, rich and poor, powerful and vulnerable have opportunity to thrive.

To carte blanch state, "I don't want to pay any tax" is to say that I do not want to participate in my neighbor's well-being. A portion of my taxes built the road upon which the ambulance is travelling, which will take my neighbor, or a family member, or me... to the hospital. In part, my taxes will pay for a student to have a summer job through a "student employment program" grant. Some of my taxs will pay the wages of soldiers who are deployed to be peace keepers. Millions of people will make a living this year through wages collected as civil servants, serving their communities. 

Any of us could make a long list of the ways our tax dollars are misused, based on our personal values and priorities. I get that; I have that long list too. However, when I consider my responsibility to my community, province, country, and the world around me - I see that much of my tax dollars have allowed very desirable things to happen. 

I consider paying taxes to be a privilege - a two edged sword of a privilege to be sure - but a privilege nonetheless. This privilege comes with the responsibility of holding our elected officials accountable for the spending of our precious tax resources. There is a time to speak out, to rally - to revolt even. Taxes are a community investment, the dividends of which are elements of daily life that are mostly taken for granted. Government is the the manager of this investment fund, and as often as they mess it up, they also manage to make life better for millions of people. 

I leave the last word to Jesus the Christ, who as far as we know never submitted a tax return:

"...some of the Pharisees and Herodians... said,

'Teacher... is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?

Should we pay or shouldn’t we...?

Then Jesus said to them,

“Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s

and to God what is God’s.”

(Mark 12.13,17, NIV)

The Color of taxes...

the stone soup of community life.

Severing my own

safety net

I fell

from a great

height

breaking upon

life's

rocky ground

We stand

or fall

Together

Breathe

Listen

Play

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." (Galatians 6.2)

- From Judaism: "All men are responsible for one another." (Talmud, Sanhedrin 27b)

- From Native American Spirituality: "Grant other people something also. The Yamana do not like a person who acts selfishly." (Yamana Eskimo Initiation)